Lottomatica to merge with Cirsa, Blackstone to become 24% shareholder in new gaming giant

Italian operator Lottomatica will absorb Spain’s Cirsa in an all‑share deal, rolling Blackstone’s existing stake into the combined group and giving the private‑equity firm roughly a 24% holding, the largest individual stake in the newly‑formed company.

7 September 2026

Volkswagen’s supervisory board approved a second wave of 50,000 layoffs on 5 September 2026, doubling the announced cuts to roughly 100,000 and sending VW preferred shares up almost 10%. About 25,000 of the new cuts will fall in Germany, while the future of the Hannover, Emden, Zwickau and Neckarsulm sites remains undecided.

6 September 2026

Moderna and Merck & Co. announced that their experimental mRNA‑4157 vaccine met primary endpoints in a registration‑size study, marking the first successful outcome for an mRNA‑based cancer therapy. Wall Street analysts now project a 2027 launch and billions of dollars in revenue.

6 September 2026

ADHD Test’s latest breakdown shows 33% inattentive, 7% hyperactive‑impulsive and 60% combined adult cases, mirroring NHS and NIMH categories.

5 September 2026

Volkswagen’s supervisory board has approved a €135 bn investment programme alongside the elimination of roughly 50,000 jobs, a ratio of about €2.7 million of capital spending per position cut. An analysis shows how this compares with peers and what it could signal for Germany’s car sector.

5 September 2026

Allianz is in early talks to acquire the UK roadside‑assistance group AA for about £5 bn, a price 1.7 times the £3 bn paid in 2021. The bid raises questions about valuation, strategic fit and the owners’ alternative path to a London listing.

2 September 2026

Royal Philips priced a €650 million fixed‑rate bond on 24 August 2026, the first healthcare‑industry issuance certified under the European Green Bond Standard, and saw demand exceed supply by 2.7 times.

26 August 2026

More than 70% of the 50,000 positions targeted for elimination by 2030 have been covered by voluntary agreements, yet Betriebsrat chair Daniela Cavallo says opaque communication has damaged confidence in CEO Oliver Blume's leadership.

26 August 2026

The sports-car maker offloads its consulting arm two years after taking full control, handing TCS a near-€1bn revenue backlog and launching an AI partnership that keeps the two companies tied together.

26 August 2026

At employee meetings in Wolfsburg and Braunschweig on 25 August 2026, Oliver Blume could not give concrete answers on a 100,000‑job restructuring, prompting sharp criticism from works‑council chair Daniela Cavallo.

26 August 2026